LECOM NEWS

Students in Health Professions Scholarship Program to serve the nation and their fellow man

Nearly 30 students at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) have learned their military residency assignments after the results of the match process recently were announced.

The students, who will graduate from LECOM in June as Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs), are enrolled in the F. Edward Hébert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP), which allows qualified medical and dental students to earn full tuition in addition to a monthly stipend. LECOM ranks among the leaders nationally in terms of its number of students participating in the program.

Garrett Britton matched into a residency at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Ga. He will specialize in internal medicine.

“LECOM is very proud of these students for serving their fellow man as physicians, but also for their selflessness and sacrifice in deciding to serve our country,” said Regan P. Shabloski, DO, Assistant Dean for Clinical Education.

One of the students, Alison Allen, grew up in a military family; her father, Major General Dwyer L. Dennis, has served in the United States Air Force for more than 30 years. Allen, who attends LECOM’s campus in Bradenton, Fla., will begin a residency at Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.

In her specialty, pediatrics, she will serve soldiers and their families and will spend part of her time at Dayton Children’s Hospital. “I’ve always enjoyed working with children, so this is an amazing opportunity,” she said.

Another military student, Garrett W. Britton, matched into a residency in internal medicine at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Ga. “I’m looking forward to working with patients,” said Britton, who attends LECOM at Seton Hill. “The interaction, seeing them progress, is extremely rewarding.”

Joshua M. Kessler, a student at LECOM’s Erie campus, matched into emergency medicine and will be stationed at Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash. Kessler applied for emergency medicine in part because of its demanding pace and range of potential experiences. “You never know what you’ll encounter from one minute to the next,” he said.

Kessler is also excited about his match; the Second, Third and Fourth battalions of the 1st Special Forces Group are stationed at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Tacoma. One of his goals is to become an ER physician with the Army's Special Forces.

More about the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP)

With more than 160 medical schools nationally participating, the Health Professions Scholarship Program(HPSP) is the military’s largest program, providing 80 percent of active duty physicians. Upon graduating from medical school, participating students are commissioned as officers in the medical corps of their respective branches.

Students may apply for 23 primary specialties, 72 residencies and 59 fellowships at 11 military teaching hospitals across the country. Specialties include obstetrics/gynecology, general surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, anesthesiology, pathology, psychiatry, and internal, family and emergency medicine.

LECOM’s military students and their match results, including branch of service, specialty, hospital and location: